Kiss of Death
by Dreamstar's Courage
Summary: Final installment of the Vampire Shifter series. Faith turns seventeen, and is chasing Magnuswho still won't admit any feelings, Charity, and Sam to King Arthur's castle. Arthur may have the solution to an undead existence. And it involves Faith.
1. Chapter 1

_**Kiss of Death**_

**_Chapter One: Happy Birthday_**

"I'm gonna sing the freakin' song if you don't stop primping and answer the door," Charity growled from her usual spot on the couch. Of course, though, now the couch is not only occupated by cat-like Charity, but her vampiric boyfriend, Sam.

Speaking of vampiric boyfriends...

No, Magnus and I aren't back together. He refuses to do anything like that. But he _is_ my friend again, and that's a start.

Oh. I might want to introduce myself. Duh.

My name is Faith Isabella de Silva. Daughter of Jesse and Suze de Silva. Now, after hearing that, you probably are expecting me to say 'I see dead people' in three seconds.

I don't.

I see _undead _people. There's a fine line.

Of course, I not only see undead people, but I make out with them. And Magnus? Yeah, that's fun. But I have forced myself to move on despite that mind-boggling kissing he gave me a couple months ago, and Rob and I are doing fine.

Carefully, I checked my reflection in the mirror. Just because we aren't dating anymore doesn't mean I can't look nice! Anyway, for my seventeenth birthday, we got my parents' permission to go to a club. They know that Magnus and Charity, with their 'special capabilities' will keep us from harm. Anyway, I was dressed in a short red dress, with strappy heels. My wavy hair cascaded to my waist, and some sheer make-up highlighted my spanish heritage.

This was all for Rob's benefit, you know.

"Hi," I grinned, answering the door. My voice was breathless. Well, I couldn't help it. Magnus was dressed up, all in black, looking like a member of a mob.

"Hey," He smiled, showing perfect, sharp teeth. His blue eyes dared to take in my appearance. "You look nice."

"So do you," I mumbled, looking down. "Um, Rob should be here in a minute."

"So he's late?" Magnus asked, his tone suddenly cheerful. "That's too bad."

I met his gaze, and my voice was cold. "What are you getting at, Magnus?"

"Sorry, Faith. A girl like you just shouldn't be kept waiting around like this. You don't deserve it."

"Oh," I laughed without humor as he walked in. I grabbed my jacket. "Like you kept me waiting around after dumping me? No, after dumping me _twice_? M-hmm, really nice."

Charity and Sam gave expasperated sighs as they walked in on our fight. "Please, lord," Charity groaned. "Just take my accursed soul and be done with it."

"Faith?" Mom's stern voice came, and she waddled into view. She's due any day now, and her stomach is ginormous. "Rob called. He said he's picking something up."

I stuck my tongue out at Magnus. He rolled his eyes, and smirked. "You'll see," He promised me.

See what?

I'm lost.

Rob's car comes into view a few moments later, and walks up, a gigantic teddy bear in hand. I had to hold back a flinch. He had given me one soon after our first meeting in the hospital, so I guess the thought counted...

But dude. This isn't the fifties where girls treasure stuffed animals their boyfriends give them. I like a little-as Charity would tease me-'bling'.

"Happy birthday!" He grinned, handing me the bear and adding a kiss to it. I slid my eyes towards Magnus. He yawned, not remotely interested in my love life anymore.

"Hey..." Rob held out his hand for Magnus to shake. "Sorry... what's your name again?"

The vampire smiled easily and shook Rob's hand, nearly crushing it in a death grip. "Magnus. We've met before, but it's... been a while..."

Ha. Not really. Magnus keeps an eye on Rob's 'antics' with me. Poor Rob. His hand was visibly bruised when he brought it back. I bit my lip, and Charity had to hold back a snicker.

This would be a long night.

xxx

"This place is great," Rob said enthiastically as we walked into the club. All eyes were on three people with the two of us. I turned my head to see the Vampires walking in. Arching an eyebrow, I realized that something was different. They walked all together, Magnus at the front, scoping out the place, Charity and Sam flanking him a few steps behind. Kind of like...

A pack.

Interesting.

The look in Magnus's dark blue eyes was certaintly not impressed. In fact, more like mocking, scoffing. I pushed a hand into my hair, then walked over to his side.

"Act excited," I muttered to him.

Magnus flashed a quick smile. "Happy birthday."

"So tell me," I smiled. "What exactly is this thing that I will see?"

"You'll see," he repeated.

Rolling my eyes, I walked over to Rob, who grinned and slipped an arm around my waist. A low growl rumbled from deep in Magnus's throat. I turned back and smirked at him, waving.

Charity suddenly stood up on tip-toe and began to speak quickly and softly in his ear. Sam paused and joined in, his voice just as low. Wow, he was really getting into this Vampire thing.

Magnus nodded quickly, then gave the most discreet motion to show that they were free to go. Charity awkwardly strayed, and began to look around, looking like a Gothic princess. A few guys grinned at eachother, inspecting Charity's figure.

Sickos.

"Hey," one boy walked up to her, grinning widely. "You look lonely."

Sam had been watching the whole time, and now his eyes narrowed. Magnus muttered something to him, a sly grin beginning on his lips.

Sam, smirking back, moved in quickly, looking like a copy of Adonis(because Magnus really is the only guy hotter than Sam-though we all know Mag beats him way out) and slipped an arm around Charity's shoulder.

"She's with me," he said coldly. "I really don't think you need the company of these idiots, do you, Charity?"

Charity let herself smile, and looked up at him. "Not really," she answered in a faint voice. I noticed Magnus, standing a bit farther off, something in his eyes. He is my partner... I could feel a strange emotion coming from him.

"Sorry," I whispered in Rob's ear. "I need to go talk to Mag. Save a seat for me at-" I pointed "-that table?"

"Of course."

With a thankful smile at him, I walked over to Magnus's side. His eyes traveled to me. "Yes?"

"You're acting weird."

"Thanks."

I tilted my head to one side, and made my voice teasing. "Aw, our little Charity is falling in love. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were convincing her not to get mediated."

"Yes," Magnus murmured, and then looked at me. "And it seems like yesterday when we first met. It's been ten months now, Faith."

I nodded. "Yeah. Can't believe it, vampguy."

"Vampires." Magnus shook his head. "That's what we are. Charity, Sam, and I. I kind of forgot it... you make things very human for us all, Faith. Before you, Charity was lifeless-both in a sense and literally." He laughed. "And I was worse."

"Worse?" I asked.

"Haven't you ever wondered why Charity watched us so carefully at first? Why I had so little control that night? You've never seen Charity like that, have you?"

"No," I admitted. Then it dawned on me. "Magnus...?"

"I hunted humans," he admitted slowly. "The donor program was very new..."

"Nonono," I said quickly, laying a hand on his arm. "I understand. Perfectly."

Magnus watched me for a moment. "May I give you your birthday present?" He asked suddenly.

I smiled shyly. "You didn't have t-"

Before I knew what was happening, he was dragging me away to a more secluded place. A case was in his hand, black and velvet. Now, any girl knows what that means.

Jewelry!

And boy, was I right.

My eyes widened as Magnus opened the case. "Magnus!" I cried. "It's gorgeous!"

For in the case was a necklace. It had a single stone, a huge emerald with tiny diamonds around the edge, matching my eyes.

"It's meaningful to me," Magnus admitted as he helped me out with the necklace. "I was about to give it to Isa-" He cut himself off, looking confused.

"Who?" I asked, having a feeling that Isa-whoever was a midevial maiden. But something wasn't right. Magnus had only loved Rowena in ye days of olde, right.

"I don't know," he said quickly. "Slip of the tongue, I guess."

"You said-"

Now it was my turn to go silent as I stared into the air.

_"Magnus, what are you hiding from me?" I laughed. The vampire grinned, showing sharp white fangs. But he would never hurt me._

_"Just be patient, m'dear," he murmured into my hair. I leaned my head back, closing my eyes at the touch of his icy breath. What was so frightening to other captivated me._

_"We could have forever, you know," I sighed. Magnus tensed. _

_"No."_

"No what?" I asked in a dazed tone.

"I didn't say anything," Magnus assured me.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then wha-"

At that exact moment, my cell-phone began to ring wildly(as you all know 'The Monster Mash') and I picked it up after seeing it was Nick's number.

"Yeah?" I asked quickly.

"Faith," Nick panted. "Mom's in labor!"

xxx

**_EEEK!!!! OK: Boy or girl? What happened in Faith's vision?_**


	2. Chapter 2

I'm so sorry about not updating!!!!! So busy!!!! Extreme writer's block!!!

_**Chapter Two: Celia**_

"Mom's what?" I asked shakily.

"She's in labor."

Whoa.

"Magnus?" I asked him carefully. "Do you still have that cool car that seems to break the speed limit pretty easily?"

His blue eyes showed that he was confused. "Yes... why?"

I grabbed onto his sleeve. "My mom's in labor," I said quickly. "And I need to be there with her. Will you help me?"

His gaze softened. "Of course I will."

I nodded, then turned around to find another person to push my worries out on.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAARITY!!!!"

xxx

Charity's POV

Faith rang her hands as she paced back and forth. Her parents were both in the delivery room, and the doctors had said it would be any minute now.

"I don't get this," Faith said, teeth chattering. She really looked like a mess, her hair all messy and eyes wild. "Why does the kid have to be born on _my _birthday? Couldn't it just wait until tomorrow?"

"Apparently not," Magnus sighed.

Faith then proceeded to begin to bang her head against the wall. This may sound weird, but I was jealous. I had been cut off from my sister ever since I got bitten.

"Magnus?" Faith asked in a breathy voice. "Charity?"

"Yeah?" I replied, digging my nails into the arms of the waiting room chairs.

"Can you give me a gun?"

Nick was off 'chilling' with his friends, but it was obvious that he was worried as well.

Speaking of that, Rob had said that it 'wasn't any of his business' and left. The nerve.

I knew who Faith needed.

Faith's POV

Magnus and Charity watched me with kind, concerned eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I cried. "I mean, just 'cause my mom's having a baby and it seems like it's taking forever even though it isn't..."

Magnus tilted his head to one side. "You need to relax," he told me in his best vampire voice. Gosh, I hate it when he does that.

Carefully, slowly, I took the seat next to him and gripped his cold hand as if I was the one having the baby. I could see the corner of Charity's mouth go up just a bit.

"There," Magnus soothed. "Better?"

"Better." I released a shaky breath.

A worried looking nurse came by and faced Magnus. After the initial 'wow he's hot' look, she spoke to him in a soft voice.

"Hello. Do you think your girlfriend might like some anti-anxiety pills-"

"She's not my girlfriend," Magnus told her sharply. "And no, she doesn't. Faith can handle herself, thanks."

I smiled shakily at him as the miffed nurse trotted off. Wow, I needed those pills, but I have Magnus, so that works out.

"Look," Charity said, yawning. "I'm going to call Sam, ok? You'll be ok with that, right?"

Sam had left as well, but he was already a close friend to me, so I nodded. "Yeah. I'd like it if he was here.

Suddenly, my dad walked out of the room, a worried look on his face.

"Dad?" I asked sharply. "What's going on? Is it Mom? Please don't tell me she-"

He put a hand on my shoulder. "No, Faith," He murmured. "She's not dead. But there are some complications right now. Your mother is losing more blood than usual, and... and they're worried we'll lose the baby."

I had to be as pale as Magnus or Charity right then, because I could feel the blood drain from my face. Every single drop.

"Can't they give Mom a transfusion? Won't that help? Or have a c-section?"

"She can't have a transfusion right now," Dad explained. "And she's past the point where it would be safe to operate. A c-section is the last resort."

I nodded quickly, holding back the tears that clouded my vision.

"Faith?" Dad asked. "Do you need me to-"

"No, no!" I choked out. "Mom and the baby need you. Go."

He hesitated, but Magnus told him calmly, "Don't worry, Mr. de Silva. I'll take care of her."

"Me too," Charity put in softly.

Dad squeezed my shoulder. "Everything will be fine, senorita." I could hear his footsteps fade out of the room.

"He's right, you know," Charity said. "Everything will be fine."

Magnus said nothing, simply drew me close and pressed his lips against my hair. That was all I needed from him. Comfort.

"What's going on?" Sam asked, walking in. In a quiet voice, Charity explained what was going on with my mom.

Hours passed. It seemed like forever, but at 11:56 pm, Dr. Hutchins, one of the women helping out with my mom, walked over to us.

"Faith de Silva?"

I raised my head. "Uh-huh?"

"Your mother is fine... she's a strong woman," She said. "But your baby sister... she's very weak right now. She looks like a fighter, though, so keep your hopes up."

Standing, I squeezed Magnus's hand one last time.

"Be careful," he told me, as if I was going to battle Niki or Bertha again.

"I will," I smiled.

Mom lay in her bed, looking exhausted. Now she was hooked up to a transfusion, but even that couldn't bring color back to her pale face. Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked up at me, then down at the tiny baby in her arms.

"Her name is Celia Mercedes de Silva."

Celia truly was a tiny baby. She was cute, though, with my mom's hair and skin tones, but my dad's Latin facial features. I touched a chestnut curl.

"She's beautiful."

Seeing Celia... and knowing that she may not even be in my life for an hour-the nurses were surely going to go hook her up to some machines in a moment-made me break down. Brushing tears out of my eyes, I raced out of the room, only to find Charity, a grave look on her face.

"What now?" I burst out. She simply hugged me.

"This is going to be so hard..." Whoa. I could feel actual tears falling from her eyes. As she drew back, I realized that I'd never seen Charity cry before, besides when she had to choose between being mediated or not.

"No, seriously," I whispered. "What's going on?"

Sam walked forward, putting his hands on Char's shoulders. "Magnus will explain it to you."

Charity held up a shaky hand to silence him. "Magnus... he got a call from the Blood Coven. The Coven who leads us all. They... um, they were tipped off about you and him... about Sam, Magnus and I all being linked to you besides in business..."

She turned her back to me, face in hand.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Magnus walking up to me. He attempted a smile, but I knew something was wrong.

"Faith," he said gently. "I need to talk to you."

"No!" Charity suddenly screamed at him, making others stare. "You can't take her away from us! You know you can't!"

Magnus shot her a glance. "Do you think I want to, Charity?"

"You love her," Charity whispered. "You're our friend. Why would you let the coven just-"

She cut herself off. "Now's not the time... I see. I'll just..."

She wrapped her arms around me.

"What's that about?" I asked.

"You're my best friend," Charity whispered in my ear. "You know that, right?"

"Right..." I agreed. She smiled sadly, then began to walk off at warp speed. Before I knew what was happening, Sam was hugging me.

"You're always there for all of us," He told me quietly. "And... Char couldn't bring herself to say this... she's too mad... but.." He sent a questioning look to Magnus, who simply nodded. "Magnus isn't doing this because he doesn't care about you."

"Doing what?" I asked.

Wordlessly, Sam went after Charity.

Magnus walked up to me. "Follow me."

And, despite what Charity and Sam had said, I did. He led me out of the hospital, taking my hand. I looked around the alleys we wove around, until we reached a house-Magnus's house.

"Why are we here?" I asked as he sat me down on the sofa.

Magnus's eyes searched my own. Suddenly, he kissed me, his lips meeting mine. Shocked, I put my hand on his neck, and kissed him back, closing my eyes. I was breathless when it stopped.

"W-what was that for?" I panted.

He said nothing, simply brushed his lips against my neck. This... hadn't happened before. I trembled. Something was wrong. But just as I was about to say something, Magnus kissed me again. And this time he kept kissing me. I leaned so that within moments, I was laying on the sofa, Magnus kissing me, his hands cradling my head. Once again, I met him with eager lips. His fingers tangled in my hair, but before I could do anything more, he suddenly lifted his face from mine.

"I love you."

The sharp sting of a needle only brought darkness.

xxx

_**Predictions?**_


	3. New Start

_**Chapter Three: New Start**_

"Yes," I smiled. "You're just growing up more every day, aren't you?"

Celia beamed that baby grin up at me, her dark brown eyes twinkling. She was smaller than most babies her age, but that didn't matter. According to the Doctors, she was very healthy.

"Can't believe she's four months old today, can you?" Mom asked happily, walking over as I put Celia in her crib.

I froze. Four months old today. That meant that it had been four months since that day that had been a blessing a curse. Celia had been born, and it had been my seventeenth birthday. It was supposed to be a day of joy...

The last thing I remember is walking out of the hospital. Then, nothing, until I was woken up by a police officer...

I had no idea where I was, or who brought me here. All I knew was that the sofa I was lying on, in that big mansion I'd never seen before, was strange.

After checking me over, the doctors said I was fine, no signs of rape of molestation, but somebody, for some reason, had to have kidnapped me. Even though I didn't remember any of it, I was scared to death.

Shrinks told my parents there was no way I could get out of this without going psycho, like getting a split personality disorder or something. But so far, nothing. Yeah, my parents and boyfriend Rob hint every now and then that I've changed, but so what? I'm fine.

Mom saw that vague look in my eyes. "Faith, honey? Are you ok?"

"Yeah..." I murmured. "Fi-ow!"

I flinched and put my hand to my forehead at the sharp pain. Lately, I've been having these tiny, one-second headaches. They're just a little annoying, no damage.

"Those things are worrying me," Mom muttered, putting her hand to my temple. "Maybe we should take you to the doctor-"

"I'm fine," I repeated.

She looked hesistant, then beckoned for me to follow her into the living room. Sitting down in a chair opposit to her, I asked, "What?"

"I was wondering," Mom began cautiously. "Do you remember anyone named... Charity? Sam?"

Nothing came into my memory, and confused, I shook my head. "No. Why?"

Dodging the question, Mom shot off one more name.

"Magnus?"

_Magnus._

For some reason, I thought I'd heard the name before. Oh, yeah, those history books I found in my room. I had no idea how they got there, but I'd read the name Magnus...

The passage flashed into my mind:

_One of the little known legends of Arthur was when the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere first started. It is said that the Lady Josephine was starting to act very strangely, and to nobody's knowing, was a vampiress. Meanwhile, love had blossomed between Sir Magnus, who was said to originally have been King Arthur's most trusted knight of the round table, and Lady Rowena. However, what Sir Magnus didn't know was that Queen Guinivere was not the only one who was betraying her man. Rowena was cheating on Magnus with Sir Lionel, and the two employed the help of Josephine. Just as Magnus realized what was going on, she bit him, and legend has it that the two still roam the earth today, hating each other as bloodthirsty monsters._

Oh. That was where I recognized the name from.

"No," I repeated. "Doesn't ring a bell. Why are you asking me this?"

"Nothing," Mom murmured, standing. "Look, just take some pain pills before your date with Rob, got it?"

Nodding, I got a goofy smile on my face. Rob. We'd been dating before the... 'incident', but not very seriously. Now we were REALLY steadies.

After taking some Aspirin, I changed from sweats and a grungy shirt in to a red t-shirt and jeans, along with my stylish new tennis shoes. After pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I waited on my porch for Rob to pick me up.

xxx

"I _can't _believe I'm trying sushi," I giggled, poking the raw fish dish with a chopstick.

"You haven't really tried it at all, Faith," Rob teased, brown eyes shining with the usual good-nature. He's an all-around good-guy.

Cautiously, I took a tiny bit up and stuffed it in my mouth, chewing and swallowing. From the little taste I got from it, it wasn't bad!

"Good," I mumbled, pointing a utensil at Rob. "You picked a nice restaurant for once." Rob has a thing for Arbies, and that usually is the only place he takes us.

But Rob didn't answer. He seemed to be looking at something-or someone-behind me. Wondering what was up, I asked him what was going on.

"Don't look back," He whispered. "But this girl's staring at you, and it's kind of freaky."

Not listening to his moaned protests, I shot a glance behind me. He was right, this girl _was_ staring. Platinum blond, pin-straight hair traveled to her shoulders, and she was wearing this weird gray uniform with a big 'S' embellished on the pocket.

Her strangely chisled face was as cold as her steel gray eyes, and as soon as she saw me looking back, she turned away, folding her arms over her chest.

At that mysterious, terribly expression on her face, I felt some flicker of recognition, but only for a minute. I'd probably seen her at one of those colleges I was checking out early, because she looked around nineteen.

Though I don't remember any of them having a uniform like that...

Ignoring that nagging feeling in my mind, I turned back to Rob and began trying to engage him into talking about that football game I know nothing about.

xxx

Charity's POV

"Four months."

"Yeah, Mag, I know. Exactly four months today since we betrayed her," I sighed, turning back to the window. Stupid gray sky. Stupid fog.

"There's no 'we'," Magnus inisted, dark circles showing clearly under his blue eyes. "_I _betrayed her."

"None of us betrayed her," Sam argued. "We did what was best for everyone."

"That may be," Magnus growled. "But I did it in the worst possible way."

"Please, Magnus," I snarled. "I contributed venom to that sedative! Just a much as you did, in fact."

"As did I," Sam agreed.

Our sorry little trio all fell silent. I hated this part of the country. Emphasis on 'country'. Out here, nobody's a Goth without being stared at. In fact, because of our beauty and seclusion, Sam, Magnus and I are all stared at.

"This idea the Blood Coven had will never take off," Magnus muttered. "It's hard to control the Midnight Coven from here, and there are few of us here. The recruiting thing was just a distraction."

"No duh," I said angrily, grating my black nails against the desk. Long scratch marks appeared on the oak.

Magnus, who seemed as mad as I was, kept clenching his large fist in and out, one of our little 'anger exercises' as the Blood Coven called them. He accidentally crushed the wine glass he had been holding. Luckily, it was drained of any blood.

Staring blankly at the shards of glass in his hand, Magnus began to pick them out, bit by bit. To be completely honest, Sam seemed to be the only sane one right now. Me crazy for freedom, Magnus lost without Faith. It was all I could do to keep him together.

xxx

_**Oooh, what do you think happened to our tragic heroes?**_


End file.
